Biochemistry of the J blood group substance of cattle

Biochemical and histochemical characterization of the cattle V red blood cell antigen with monoclonal antibody IVA-41

The cattle V antigen from the FV blood group system was characterized. Hemolytic as well as immunochemical analyses with monoclonal antibody (MAb) IVA-41 found that V antigen of bovine red blood cells is a membrane-bound, papain- and pronase-sensitive, trypsin- and chymotrypsin-resistant N-glycosylated sialoglyco-protein with molecular weight of 64, 56, and 50 kDa under no reduction and 23 kDa under reduction conditions. In contrary to some human blood group antigens, the expression of bovine blood group V antigen is restricted to the erythrocyte membrane.

Mapping of the bovine blood group systems J, N', R', and Z show evidence for oligo-genetic inheritance

Genes determining the bovine erythrocyte antigens were mapped by linkage analysis. In total 9591 genotypes of 20 grandsire families with 1074 sires from a grand-daughter design were elucidated for the genes determining the erythrocyte antigens EAA, EAB, EAC, EAF, EAJ, EAL, EAM, EAN', EAR', EAS, EAT', and EAZ according to standard paternity testing procedures in the blood typing laboratories. Linkage analyses were performed with 248 microsatellite markers, eight SSCP markers and four polymorphic proteins and enzymes covering the 29 autosomes and the pseudoautosomal region of the sex chromosomes. The number of informative meioses for the blood group systems ranged from 76 to 947. Blood group systems EAM and EAT' were non-informative. Most of the erythrocyte antigen loci showed significant linkage to a single chromosome and were mapped unequivocally. The genes determining erythrocyte antigen EAA, EAB, EAC, EAL, and EAS were mapped to chromosomes 15, 12, 18, 3, and 21, respectively. Lod-score values ranged from 11.43 to 107.83. Moreover, the EAF system could be mapped to chromosome 17. However, the EAN' system previously known as part of the EAF system could be mapped to chromosome 5. In addition, the blood group systems EAJ, the new EAN', EAR', and EAZ, showed significant linkage to microsatellite markers on various chromosomes and also to other blood groups. The appearance of a single blood group system might be therefore either dependent on the existence of other blood group systems or because of an interaction between different loci on various chromosomes as is known in humans and in pigs.